Solar Eclipse 'Cool' Learning Experience At Daniels Run Elementary
FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Students in Megan Oris’ fifth-grade class at Daniels Run Elementary School in Fairfax City were unified in their opinion on the relative “coolness” of Monday’s solar eclipse.
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“It’s cool,” said Taellen. “It’s like the first time I’ve ever seen it.”
“I think it was pretty cool,” said her classmate Clare. “I’ve never seen anything like it before. So yeah, I was pretty excited this morning. I wore my shirt that’s like a NASA shirt, because it involves space.”
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Another student agreed that the eclipse was cool, but the next time one occurred, he planned to travel to a place where the sun was fully eclipsed. “That would be way cooler,” he said.
In Fairfax City, residents were only able to see a partial eclipse, with the moon covering about 87.7 percent of the sun at its peak.
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Even so, the partial eclipse was enough to impress the students at Daniels Run Elementary. All students and staff were given their own pair of eclipse viewing glasses and classes went outside to safely view the rare solar event.
The eclipse also gave teachers something to talk about in class.
“It worked out really nicely, because our current science unit is light and sound,” said Oris. “Today, we were learning about how light refracts through objects. It’s really timely that this is happening because we can talk about how the moon is covering the sun and therefore it’s making the sun’s lightwaves stronger and more concentrated, which is why they’ve got to wear the glasses.”
Assistant Principal Janelle Alabi explained that one of the school’s science teachers had ordered the glasses months ago in anticipation of the eclipse and the school was able to apply to Fairfax County to pay for them.
“We’re really known for our sense of community here,” Alabi said. “Providing the resources to get students to experience this once-in-a-lifetime experience. It gives them something tangible to the curriculum. They’ve learned about the moon’s phases and now this is something they’re always going to remember.”
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